Another claim not verified by media

A struggling solo mum in Blenheim is only $34 better off a week since she came off the benefit and got a job.

The 48-year-old said Marlborough’s low wage economy meant it was harder for people to enter the workforce.

The early childhood teacher, who worked 29 hours a week, earned $21.90 an hour, just more than the living wage set at $19.25.

“When you weigh it up, is it worth going to work?

“The Government is trying to get everyone off the benefit but there is no incentive to work.”

She received $580 a week when she was on benefits looking after her three dependent children aged 10, 15 and 17.

Her new job, which she also juggled with studying for a bachelor in early childhood education, paid $614 a week after her student fees were taken out.

She missed qualifying for a working for family support benefit by one working hour.

This is not correct.

According to the IRD calculator if she is working more than 20 hours a week she should receive $239 a week in family tax credits and $60 a week for in-work tax credits which is $299 a week on top of the $614 from her job.

Either the anonymous person quoted is not mentioning this, or they are unaware of what they should be getting. Regardless she should be around $335 a week better off in her PT job if she is getting the tax credits above.

Paulus

Why when we see somebody slagging the system the media (so called) immediately jump against the Government.
The media and maybe this lady is/are pathological liars.
No wonder the Herald is going bust – the sooner the better.

chris

BeaB

I have never read a story in a newspaper where I knew the people or details where there were not mistakes – often serious ones. But it seems now the media set out to tell us lies by omission.

Instead of the self-important “speaking truth to power” that pompous twits like John Campbell like to claim they do, perhaps they could start by speaking the truth to us – their readers, listeners and viewers.

J Bloggs

Having run her rate of pay, and hours worked through the calculator at paye.net.nz and working with an assumption of a minimum 3% kiwisaver deduction and Student loan repayments, her weekly take home pay should come to $482-37 after tax ($635 gross)

$635 means that as a parent of 3 kids, she can get $221 in WFF. THis would bring her weekly income to $ 703-37

We already know that she isn’t collecting money she is entitled to for the in work credit (I surmise that she was informed she needed to be working 30hrs a week, which is the threshold for two parent families, not solo parents)

The article mentions that she is studying part time as well and her pay is after the course fees are deducted – these would only need to be $90/week to bring her weekly income down to the $614 mentioned in the article.

Unity

She asks if it is worth going to work just to earn $34 more than the benefit. What planet does she live on? Of course it is worth going to work – for her self respect for starters, and also it could be the beginning of progress for her employment prospects, not to mention no longer being a drain on the taxpayer but I don’t think some people even consider this. I’m sure she will be a much better person knowing she is existing by her own efforts and setting an example to her children that everyone must acquire a work ethic, aspire to do well after first getting as good an education as possible.

She certainly needs to change her attitude and pass on to her children the need to aspire to better things – by their own efforts, not via the taxpayer.

I see this as an example of the government policy which has caused the problem that WINZ are not encouraged to ensure that beneficiaries get their full entitlement but rather requiring folk to know their entitlements. I hope the lady in question reads the information that DPF has provided so that she gets what is her due. It is completely disgusting that WINZ didn’t provide this information in the first place …. though one cannot but feel sorry for WINZ with their hard task mistress.
This has been going on for years under both Labor and National so this is not a ‘get JK post’ but rather disgust at the mentality of the voters who support the idea that bene’s are bludgers because a small number are out for the main chance while people who are trying slip through the cracks

Mobile Michael

I love how Stuff (after many commentators asked about W4F) amended the story to say because she works 29 hours she does not qualify for additional assistance by 1 hour only to have more comments pointing out the single parents only need to work 20 hours a week to qualify.

Adolf Fiinkensein

cmm

Please don’t say “entitlement” like it is something to which someone is morally entitled.

I have only heard a “thank you” from a beneficiary once. You’d think people would be more grateful for the hand-outs that keep them out of the gutter. I know I always say thanks when someone helps me.

The rest of the time it has been hostility and “pay more you rich prick”/”I can breath so I deserve a car and xxx” style attitudes.

The welfare system is supposed to be a safety net. Falling in a a real safety net still hurts, but keeps you alive. Unfortunately the welfare system is too much like a hammock: nice and comfortable and if I put out my hand please put another umbrella drink in it.

jonar

@cmm

Please don’t say “entitlement” like it is something to which someone is morally entitled.

If it’s part the laws of the welfare system then a beneficiary is entitled to it, same as the benefits accruing to any other citizen under any other law.
And anyone thinking that a beneficiary has a cruisey existence obviously has never had the displeasure of being on a benefit.

igm

The left, ably assisted by scum now entrenched in MSM, know no bounds when it comes to their vile and leeching agendas. God help NZ the day Little Andy and his disciples ever get near Treasury . . . decent people will be bailing out once again!

Doc

Even if no better off financially, there are significant advantages.
1) Self Esteem boost
2) First step towards higher wages
3) Setting a good example for her children
4) No longer living off money taken from her neighbours’ pay packets
5) No longer feels obligated to vote for Labour/Green 🙂

artemisia

Does she also receive child support? While on benefit, if CS is less than the benefit, this goes to the government to offset the cost of the benefit. Most solo parents do receive CS, some don’t for various reasons though. (Such as death, hiding income, going overseas …)

So if it was previously paid to WINZ, it will now be paid direct to her.

cmm

@jonar:

Yes it is part of the law, but that does not make it moral.

I certainly don’t think that being a beneficiary is a cruisey existence. It is certainly cruisey enough that there are many career beneficiaries that are professionally unemployed who choose this option.

G152

holysheet

Please people, you have all missed the most important point to this whole shitty story.

The early childhood teacher, who worked 29 hours a week, earned $21.90 an hour, just more than the living wage set at $19.25.

just more than the living wage set at $19.25.
This is the crux of their complaint. FFS the minimum wage is $14.75. These fucking lefties cannot let the facts get in the way of a good story.
$21.90 is 47% more than the minimum wage. That sounds better does it not?

Press release

The early childhood teacher, who worked 29 hours a week, earned $21.90 an hour, 47% more than the minimum wage set at $14.75.

Daniel

There should be a requirement than journalists have either a basic understanding of the subject matter they are writing about, or are able to do fact check what they write (ideally both). This article was written by Heather Simpson – how embarrassing for her to be responsible for that.

JIV

Doug

Marlborough Express
Last updated 12:12 03/02/2014
Today we have a second new reporter joining the team, this time from Ireland via Australia and Wellington. Heather Simpson is an experienced journalist who decided to do a bit of travelling and ended up in New Zealand and has decided to stay a while.

MCos

Unity – She is going to work, so clearly she doesn’t need your condescending advice. Furthermore anyone at her age bring up three teenage children and studying for a degree is probably setting a pretty good example for her kids.

A Blenheim single mother of three finds she is only $34 better off working. She says, “When you weigh it up, is it worth going to work? The Government is trying to get everyone off the benefit but there is no incentive to work.”

The incentive lies in being self-supporting, in joining the workforce that creates the productivity and taxes to pay for, among other things, benefits for those who genuinely can’t support themselves…

Another falsehood – there is NO ‘Living Wage’ in this country. The Living Wage is a Utopian wet dream of Labour, the Greens and the unions to instantly make everyone rich. It won’t, of course, because employers will have to increase their prices/fees to compensate.

However I am almost certain that this will be an NZEI propaganda piece, designed to engender sympathy for poor, starving ECE teachers. The fact that the story is so full of omissions and errors of fact leads me to that conclusion.

But did anyone else notice the mischief-making of the Herald? Alongside the story is a photo of a frazzled mum trying to study while balancing a toddler on her knee. The children in question here are 17, 15 and 10; well past the toddler stage.

igm

I wouldn’t be surprised if she got the wrong info from IRD – who may well have told her that she had to work 30 hours to get In Work Payment. Also it is unclear from the story whether the $580 a week she got on the benefit included Working for Families. whether it included the accommodation supplement – which she would also get as an employee if she did not live ion a Housing NZ place.